Epilogue
“I’M A LITTLE NERVOUS…” Claire said, her expression stiff.
We were walking the path back to our home in Bauer. It had been about ten months since we left, so I was a bit jittery too.
The sky stretched above us, blue without a cloud in sight. The air was cold, but I didn’t feel any of its numbing chill. Surely that was because Claire was there to warm me.
A week had passed since our battle in the server room. TAIM had reverted humanity’s memories back to normal, so now everyone was able to remember Claire again.
“I can’t believe myself… How could I have forgotten about you, Claire?” With some bitterness directed at herself, Manaria had apologized a number of times. She grinned wryly. “I guess you two really do share a special bond. There’s no room for me to force myself in.”
I then joked about her realizing that way too late, quickly earning a chop to the head from Claire.
Manaria was back in Sousse by now. Her return had been long overdue, what with her having been away ever since she went to Nur for the four-nation summit.
“Lady Manaria, what are you doing? It’s time we leave.” Eve eventually came from Sousse to drag Manaria back, after she postponed her return to keep hanging out with us—as well as to put off doing her queenly duties. The two of them still seemed a bit on edge around one another, but I had a feeling time would bring them close again. If not, Claire would probably take matters into her own hands and force them to make up.
“Awww, there’s too much work! I have no time to go play with Rae!” Lilly whined.
“There, there. I’ll go play with her enough for both of us, so you keep at it!” Lana said.
“That solves nothing!”
“Lana, please ‘keep at it’ as well,” Dole said.
It had been officially decided that Lilly would be reinstated as a cardinal. The preparations for that kept her busy, but occasionally she found a free moment to come visit and grumble. According to Claire, Lilly had become more brazen with her advances ever since she temporarily became my lover. Personally, I was happy about that—because it meant I got to experience Claire’s jealousy more often. Woo-hoo!
Dole offered Lana a job as his aide for the time being. She was apparently pretty capable but had an unfortunate habit of skipping work, earning her frequent lectures from Dole. She often came to visit our home when she skipped out, and every time she did, we were treated to a show of Dole dragging her out by the back of the collar. The fact that he went to such lengths to reel her in was, in my opinion, very possibly a sign of the potential he saw in her future.
“The future of humanity, is it? To think I would be involved in something so grand at my age…” Dole was holding talks about the Loop System with the leaders of various countries, starting with Bauer. Nur was apparently a great deal more cooperative now. The Loop System’s administrator privileges were still with Claire for the time being, but she was prepared to transfer them to a suitable candidate once a consensus was reached on how we should run the System and what kind of future we wanted for humanity.
I told Dole at one point that I felt bad about dumping so much work on his lap, but he just gave me a cheerful smile and said he’d do anything to help his dear daughters.
“Y’know, I’ve been talking to Thane a lot more as of late.” Rod was man of the hour now, thanks to his Focalizer’s contributions in the battle against the Demon Queen, but he didn’t seem to care much for the fame. He did say, however, that he had found more meaning in his simple work. As for his relationship with Thane, I didn’t know what had changed between them, or perhaps within themselves, but they got along much better now.
Thane’s self-esteem had improved, and many now considered him to have the air of a king. His leadership in this post-Demon Queen world was thought to be second only to Manaria’s. I had a feeling that with him at the helm, Bauer would soon overcome the aftereffects of the Mt. Sassal eruption.
“We won’t be second to Broumet anymore!” Lene’s contributions in the Demon Queen battle had been recognized, and her and Lambert’s company, Frater Trading, were on the verge of surpassing Broumet. News of the sharp, capable proprietress leading the industry, and her husband who could handle all practical affairs single-handedly, made newspaper headlines in every country.
Last I’d heard, they were planning on opening a branch shop in the empire and were swamped with preparations. Lene had complained to me once about how she had no time to flirt around anymore, but she seemed pretty happy despite it. She had found her calling and was living a fulfilling life. I was happy for her.
“I can visit my daughter’s grave now. Thank you, Ms. Claire, Ms. Rae.” Claire and I went to visit Mr. Torrid to thank him for teaching us tandem casting, only for him to turn the tables and thank us instead. His crimes against the empire—namely desertion—had been pardoned by Philine, and he was now free to move as he wished between it and the kingdom. He mainly stayed in Bauer, as he had his job at the Royal Academy, but he traveled to the empire to see his daughter’s grave whenever he had a long holiday. He was one of many whose lives were at the whims of the Loop System; I hoped he could find happiness.
Joel was now living on her own. Her change hadn’t gone over too well with her family, who were fairly conservative. That wasn’t too surprising for a family that had served the royal palace as military officers for generations. Joel had tried her best to persuade her parents for some time, but they were obstinate, so eventually she’d gotten fed up and left her family home.